"Take a Look at THAT!" Critical Disability Aesthetics and the Other-ing Gaze
For those who are physically different the action of walking down the street can present a challenge of resilience. This photo essay represents the lived experience of the author who is a woman with achondroplasia dwarfism simply walking the streets, showing her manoeuvring through a bombardment of micro aggressions. The images were captured on location in ‘The Rocks’ and ‘Circular Quay’ Sydney, Australia - a popular tourist destination. The photos were taken in 2 shoots of 30 minutes and the camera was a Canon 5DMkIISLR, captured by a professional photographer under the direction of the author. The essay shows how different corporeality can present as a visual rupture to the average bodies in a crowd. When such difference is met with an appropriating gaze, or negative comment, the subject of that gaze or comment is objectified and her sense of self assaulted. However, when the objectifier is met with an oppositional gaze, the subject survives the objectification and challenge to her dignity. But this manifestation of resilience is effortful and affronting. The photo essay aims to capture the dynamic of Critical Disability Aesthetics - with the body’s entry into a crowd and a momentary respite before a continuation of and resistance against the Othering Gaze.
Read the rest of the visual essay here!
'Little Things Matter’ - LTM was completed during the pandemic when we were just coming out of full lockdown (that was fun). This work is currently with the Museum of Contemporary Art:
https://aarts.net.au/artscreen2021/
